So I got it; now what?
While the drive home was uneventful, it did reveal some shortcomings that need to be addressed. The post purchase inspection revealed some more things, but nothing that really surprised me on a vehicle this old. Following is a list of the things that need corrected, in no particular order:
Turn signals non-functional Brakes pull to the right Exhaust leak
Air leaking past door seals Missing door glass wipers Loose wiper linkage
Oil leak Oil pressure gauge pegs Radio wired incorrectly
Radiator may be leaking Radiator support rusty Hood rusted out
Dents in roof and bedside Leaking rear axle seals Seat cover torn
Sunvisors shot Clutch judder in reverse Fuel smell in cab
Stumble on acceleration
For now, a quick plan of corrective action:
1) Turn signals fixed...poor prior repair to wiring in right front.
2) Brakes...basically in need of a rebuild. I took the rears apart and while the linings were good, the wheel cylinders were shot. I replaced the cylinders and both rubber and steel lines at the rear axle. UPDATE: Braking was still horrible. Ultimately found that the front hoses were
collapsed and virtually no braking was occuring on the front axle! Due to the rusted steel lines,
I've elected to proceed with the disc brake upgrade now vs. later.
3) Exhaust leak...the system is junk. I replaced it with a dual system custom bent to my specs. Ultimately, the leak was found to be the heat riser. I replaced it with a new one from LMC but it is not a perfect fit (stud holes are too large). Have since located nos one on Ebay.
4) Door seals...need replaced. Anti rattle kits desperately needed, but truck should be painted first.
5) Wiper linkage flops around on the driver's side. Worn out linkage rod replaced with good used.
6) Oil leak...looks to be the intake end gaskets. The intake is a heavy-ass thing, so I'm putting this off for now.
7) Guage pegs...appears to be bad/incorrect sending unit.
8) Radiator...judged terminal. Replacement 'constructed'.from another Ford truck model with '65
brackets attached and hose bushings for coolant hoses.
9) Rad support...needs to be removed, reconstructed. Possibly not terminal, but I found a perfect
replacement at Carlisle for $300.
10) Hood...looking for replacement. So far purhcased one unrusted but badly dented one for $30;
still looking for a better one.
11) Dents...to be asessed and repaired at later date in concert with partial or full repaint.
12) Axle seals...replaced. Used a piece of PVC as a seal driver!
13) Seat cover...jury is out on this, do we go original or more comfortable material?
14) Visors...purchased from Carolina Classics at Carlisle. Not exactly like original, but they'll do.
15) Clutch...unknown cause (reverse only), may need replacement.
16) Fuel smell...corrected, filler hose bad (included with truck!).
17) Throttle stumble...probable bad accel pump diaphragm, carb kit obtained. UPDATE: carb
rebuilt, marginal if any improvement. Now looking towards ignition system or worn timing
chain. Has Petronix already installed (hooray!) but at least two different brands/types of plugs
screwed into the heads. Replaced plugs, checked timing chain and it's got slop. I believe this is the culprit.
While it may seem like quite a laundry list, it is mostly minor or annoying stuff that won't keep it off the road. The radiator was the only unwelcome surprise, cost was around $175.
Other than some things being rusted together, it has been a pleasure to work on so far. Lots of room to get at most everything, simple parts requiring simple solutions. Working on such a simple vehicle is much less stressful than tinkering with the cramped, complex imports (though I still like them).
Quick update 9/30/03
I've been horribly remiss in updating this page. I've made some progress on some fronts and very little on others. A quick synopsis:
Disc brake conversion installed on front (see this page to read how).
Removed bogus Taiwan gauges and replaced with originals found at Carlisle ($10!). They light up, but haven't figured out the wiring yet, and I need additional sending units.
Disassembled, refinished instrument cluster, painted needles and made all the lights work. Looks fabulous.
Installed Ebay vintage tachometer only to find out it doesn't work. Bought identical 2nd one that don't work either. Pissed off.
Installed seriously cool 1965 North Carolina "Farm Truck" license plate I found on Ebay.
Replace wiper blades with ones from Dennis Carpenter in stainless. Wiper still thwacks molding, pivot is worn out and needs replaced. Replaced pivot on driver's side, all is well.
Replaced mixture of moronic SplitFire and Bosch Platinum plugs with correct Autolites.
Cursed LMC every time I started truck and heard heat riser leaking. NOS one I bought didn't fit, even though part number was correct. Ultimately reinstalled leaky original one after welding butterfly valve open.
Replaced old man whitewalls and steel wheels with American Racing mags and BFG's. (see below).
Bought repro door mirrors to replace giant west coast ones on it now that barely fit through garage door.
Sent fender emblems out for rechroming (correct 1965 ones not repro'd). Got them back and they are gorgeous...time to restore the rest of the truck!
Dismal update 8/04: I've made such little progress on this thing. The good news is I continue to use and enjoy it regularly. I'm driving it 1,000 miles to Des Moines, Iowa for the inaugural "Slickstock" truck meet Labor Day weekend 2004.
Another pathetic update 5/05: The Slickstock trip was a success. The truck ran extremely well for the most part and returned an average of 15mpg! It does suffer from a vapor lock-like shut off when restarted hot that is puzzling me, mostly because the truck seems to develop a rich condition. I'm currently trying to figure this out.
After replacing two parts of the wiper linkage, the damn things still ka-THWACKs the lower windshield molding. I'm going to pull the entire nightmare out and have a look at it to see what it's freaking problem is.
Attempted heat riser repair #4 is about to be tested. I'm back to trying the LMC one as a fellow Slickster was able to make shims for it to fit the studs. Unfortunately, the original flat gasket is NLA, so I'm hoping the other one that barely fits will work.
I had the bumpers chromed, and they are now on the truck. They are so nice, it now makes all the aluminum trim look like crap, so I bought a buffing kit which I have to learn how to use.
I've got some sexy finned aluminim Cal Custom valve covers I need to install on my oil encrusted engine. Update: they don't fit. Throttle cable is in the way of these taller covers.
I've found a wiring harness for the extra gauges in the instrument cluster but haven't had time to install it.
Installed white tailgate letters and they are terrific!
I'm up to 3 donor hoods and don't like any of them completely, but I did buy a 'factory second' repro hood ornament for only $15!
Yet another didn't-do-much update 5/06: The buffing kit, in concert with anodizing remover has given the aluminum park and tail lamp trim a terrific new look. I still have to do the grille and headlamp surrounds, which involves removing the grille--no small task! I bought a Sun tach at Carlisle (this one actually works) and installed that on the column temporarily. I yanked the horrible Audiovox radio from the dash and am debaiting on what to do next. Most any other installation will require making the ugly hole in the dash even larger, but that's probably the route I'm headed.
I may, at last, be on the track of the elusive vapor lock.
I removed and scrubbed the interior door panels. While they are still not 'white', they are brighter than before.
And, I may have found a bed cover I like. It is not cheap, but is the kind you can fold up into 3 sections and quickly remove. I'll report again once it is installed, with photos.
The truck otherwise just hums along. Since it doesn't cause me grief, I don't work on it like the other 'projects' that grace my garage. Kind of a shame, since it is so easy to work on.
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